On the White Line

Cotton Wood at Quitobaquito Pond

The US-Mexico Border - the vehicle barrier, then the white posts of the International Border, then Mexican Highway 2

A trip to Quitobaquito Pond at Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona really should come with a car sickness warning… although combining that with the “don’t mind the guys with guns” statement already in place might scare some visitors away from the special tour.

Truth is, the two rangers on the tour carrying an automatic rifle and two handguns each didn’t bother me… banditos would target them before they’d consider firing at me, right?

The rough road to the site, that’s a different story. It’s unpaved and runs parallel to the US-Mexico border. We bobbed up and down the entire trip with all ten of us visitors in our van feeling a wee bit car sick. The first three miles gave us views of the pedestrian-proof fence on the border. That gave way to miles of iron beams that made up the vehicle barrier between the countries.

In many places, the drove immediately next to the vehicle barrier with the white posts marking the international barrier in clear site… just a few feet farther was Mexican Highway 2.

The Oasis

I’m letting my fascination with the border overshadow the site we came to see.

Quitobaquito Pond was built from natural springs and became a natural stopping point for people and animals crossing the desert… it’s quite near the famous Camino del Diablo (Highway of the Devil).

Being the only natural water source for miles, the site has a history that intertwined Native American, Mexican, and European settlers and travelers. It’s past plays into US history… including the Gadsden Purchase and the route the 49ers took on their way to California.

Add to that, it’s home to several unique plants and animals. Including the Quitobaquito Pupfish… a spry little aquatic creature that lives only there. We also sampled a few plants… wolf berry, salt bush, and sheep bush (the latter two being quite salty which matches the character of the soil).

The pond is only accessible by tours led the National Parks… and the tours are not regularly scheduled, so you’ll need to contact Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument if you want to visit.

The evenings here in Ajo, Arizona, have been lovely — a bit cool but perfect sweater weather.

Tonight we were invited next door for barbeque. Great food. Great company.

When the shirt tree blooms in Ajo, Arizona, that means you’ve got a week’s worth of clean clothes

When I was a kid, my mom tried her hand at homemade baked potato chips. I remember someone munching on them and saying, “They’re just like bought chips.”

I took my first bite and thought, “Blah. These are nothing like real chips.”

A few weeks ago, the folks at Weight Watchers were chatting about microwave potato chips… that’s what happens at those meetings — we talk about food. These chips were the buzz because they are made with no oil and you can eat a whole potato and only use up a few points.

My mind flashed to the dry potato chip wannabe my mom pulled out of the oven way back when. I wasn’t expecting much.

Tonight I whipped up a batch of potato and sweet potato chips. I gotta say; they are tasty and the texture’s pretty good too. I’m not gonna say they taste like store bought… they’re a bit different… some might even say better.

Here’s how I made them…

Ingredients:

1 potato or sweet potato
Butter Flavored Fat Free Cooking Spray
Salt

Instructions:

1. Peal the potato and slice it to about 1/8 inch thick (it was kind of fun testing a few different thicknesses).
2. Coat a pan or tray with cooking spray.
3. Spread the potato slices in a single layer on the pan – don’t let the slices touch or they’ll end up sticking together.
4. Place the pan in the microwave on high for 3 minutes (our microwave is a 900 watt).
5. Remove the pan from the microwave and flip over the potato slices (you’ll notice the potatoes have shrunk a bit).
6. Return the pan to the microwave and cook for another 3 minutes, but keep an eye on the slices… when they show signs of browning they’re done.

If you let the chips cool for a few minutes, they will crisp up. This is definitely a small-batch recipe… which keeps your portion control in check.

Next up… trying them with the skins on, tossing them in barbeque sauce, dill, or Parmesan cheese.

After a few weeks of above normal temperatures, it’s been a little chilly lately (in the low 60s). I’m definitely NOT complaining. Today, we even had a few hours of steady rain.

Art show vendors can be a unique breed. Many seem to trend toward the extremes… super nice, overly crabby, wildly impulsive, tremendously habitual (I’m not sure what category we fall into).

Reckless

As we were taking down our booth in Tubac, Arizona, we witnessed one pair of vendors at their worst. An RV with a man and woman inside were all packed up and driving up the street passed the rest of the vendors.

I’m not sure why, but the driver veered way to one side of the road driving over another vendor’s tent poles in the process. The poles were off the street, so I can’t lay fault on the roadside artist. For anyone who has had to put up a show tent, you know that bent poles are pretty much useless.

Complete Disregard

The vendor on the street called out to the driver, but the the RV kept rolling along. He ran up to the driver side window and rapped on the glass, but the RV rolled on. He then climbed on the running board, reached across the windshield, and started yanking on the RV windshield wiper yelling “stop!” and the RV jolted forward. The guy on the running board jumped off and the RV swiped the branches of a mesquite tree as it sped off.

We were all in shock. Driving over someone’s tent, that’s a terrible accident. Pushing your foot to the gas peddle while everyone is waving you to stop, that’s just reckless and disrespectful.

It happened too quickly for me to take down a license plate number, but I hope there is some record of who these folks were… I’d hate to think they’d be invited back after that behavior… and they owe that guy more than an apology.

Baby Ita with a twin parked behind.

While in Tubac, Arizona, Baby Ita was one of THREE RVs in the Itasca Navion/Winnebago View family… AND all three were pulling little trailers. I’d say the chances are pretty slim of that happening again.

Holy smokes! We had our first Tucson Gem and Mineral and Jewelry and All Kinds of Other Stuff Stuff experience. We’ve been in town during the big gem show for the past three years, but never managed to stop. This year… thanks to our friend Bit… we hit FIVE of the over THIRTY shows going on in town.

Unbelievable! Vendors come from all over the world to buy and sell anything to do with jewelry and gems… and some things that have nothing to do with either. Next year, we’ll need a few days to see more.

You heard it here first

We kick off our winter show season tomorrow at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, tomorrow.

Ever since we arrived at Artist Check-In the buzz has been about last weekend’s show in Palm Springs. On what started as a quiet day, 90mph winds swept in and decimated the show.

That’s the same storm that blew us right out of Texas… and we only had 50mph winds (I can’t believe I’m saying “only” to that).

We had considered applying for the Palm Springs show, I guess it worked out for the best that we didn’t.

Oddly the general forecast predict very mild winds for this weekend, yet there’s a High Wind Watch and a Wind Advisory in lace for Friday and Saturday… not sure which forecast to trust.

Here’s some footage from the show everyone’s been talking about.

Yesterday started with little hope of any structure. Baby Ida’s air filters and house battery required attention, and since we were passing through Tucson, the time was right for separate trips to the Dodge dealer and the Interstate Battery shop. Either stop had the potential to turn into an all-day ordeal.

This time, we got lucky. Tucson Dodge managed to get us in and out within two hours (but not without lightening our wallet by $150). The timing was perfect to grab lunch with our friend Bit and catch up on all the details from her recent trip to Ireland.

Then we were off to the tackle the battery issue. To our delight, it was under control within a half hour and without any out-of-pocket expense. That gave us time to stop in to visit our friends Dick and Mary Ann. After catching up with them, we had to push on… check-in for our next show was only two days away in Indio, California.

As we drove north from Tucson, Arizona treated us to a fantastic sunset, and at that point we were only 30 minutes from our friends Jim and Betty in Phoenix. A bit more visiting and a friendly driveway where we could spend the night. And their neighbor plied us fresh grapefruits and lemons from his trees.

Somehow, a day of uncertainty turned out to be a complete day of visiting… with some important chores thrown in for good measure.